Deer Park Principal suspended

Deer Park School’s principal has been suspended after teachers in the rural elementary school expressed doubt about his ability to lead the district.

Dennis Haverlandt was suspended with pay Feb. 12 by a unanimous board of trustees vote, board Chairwoman Chantal Yacavone said.

The board met in executive session Feb. 9 to discuss a complaint about Haverlandt, Yacavone said. The complaint was a letter of no confidence signed by all but one of Deer Park’s teachers.

Yacavone declined to identify the teacher who didn’t sign the letter.

A letter of no confidence states that a group of employees has no confidence in the district’s leadership, Yacavone explained. The employees must cite infractions that support their lack of confidence.

Deer Park’s teachers “had a mountain of documented evidence, which is private,” Yacavone said.

The evidence and the letter are being kept secret because it’s a personnel matter. The trustees

 discussed the complaint during a closed session.

Haverlandt declined to comment on the specifics of the complaint.

“It was nothing criminal. Nothing like that,” he said. “It was a difference of philosophical opinion on how a school should be run.”

Haverlandt is in his fourth year as principal of Deer Park School. Before that, he worked for the Great Falls School District.

Since his suspension, his duties have been divided among the teachers at the school. Librarian Bobbie Vaden is handling discipline, paperwork and organization, Yacavone said. Other teachers are handling other issues as they arise.

The district also has hired a long-term substitute for the computer classes Haverlandt taught, Yacavone said.

Haverlandt’s future at the school is uncertain. The school board has made Haverlandt a settlement offer, Yacavone said. She would not disclose the details of the settlement but said Haverlandt must decide by today whether to accept the offer.

Haverlandt declined to comment on a possible settlement.

If he doesn’t accept the board’s offer, trustees will schedule a termination hearing, Yacavone said. That hearing would be at their next meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. March 2.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.